The Singles Collection

Silversun Pickups

Amoeba Review

02/21/2014

Despite Grammy nominations and a steady cult following both at home in L.A. and abroad, a singles collection may at first seem like an odd choice for the spacey moody alt-rockers. The SIlversun Pickups came of age during the waning days of rock radio and as a result have always straddled the line between a cultish underground persona and real life rock stardom. While they've had singles climb high up the charts, they are a committed album-rock band with only three full-lengths under their belt. The most interesting thing about The Singles Collection is what a consistent and consistently good album it actually is. Rather than functioning as a scrap-bookish greatest hits collection or a trip down memory lane, the record feels like a conspiracy revealed, an album that existed in pieces dispersed across all of their albums and EPs, assembled in the same place for the first time just now. To solidify the collection, they add a great new song "Cannibal," a follow up to the subtle electronics experimented with on the Let It Decay EP, which acts as a unifying perspective through which to see the other songs. This collection should be both an aha moment for fans and newcomers alike. A rare feat.